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Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Do I Need a Will?

You can't take it with you. Unless you plan on living forever,
there will eventually be a need to divide your property amongst the
relatives and loved ones you leave behind. By having a will, you
determine who gets what. Without one, the law will do it for you by the
operation of statutes. Many people believe that they are not wealthy
enough to need a Will. But if you own property that is titled (a car or
house), after your death, those items cannot be transferred without
opening an estate. If you don't have a Will, the cost of processing your
estate goes up significantly.

When a person dies and leaves
property behind, that property is known as an estate. In order to
transfer ownership of the property in the estate from the deceased to
surviving heirs, the estate must go through the probate process. A Will
not only identifies who will inherit the property, but names an executor
to administer the estate. Without a Will, not only will statutes
determine who gets your property, but the court will have to appoint and
administrator to handle the estate. This is a costly process.

The
most obvious benefit to having a Will is controlling what property
passes to which heir. This is important if there are pieces of personal
property that you want to go to a specific loved one for sentimental or
other reasons. A Will also allows you to place conditions on the
bequest, such as that the heir complete higher education or attain a
certain age, before receiving his or her inheritance.

If these
benefits of having a Will are not enough to convince you to take action,
then consider those who you are leaving behind. A Will invariably makes
the probate process smoother and easier for the survivors. In addition
to controlling exactly where the property goes, a Will names the person
or persons who will "execute" the estate, meaning the person who will
gather the property and distribute it to the named heirs. This is often
no small undertaking - it can involve selling stock, closing and
consolidating bank accounts, liquidating assets, and more. In drafting a
will, you should be sure to select an executor who has knowledge of the
property in your estate and the competence and willingness to perform
the job, all of which makes for a more efficient probate process.
Without a Will, the court must appoint an administrator (obviously not
of your choosing) to perform these tasks. Unfortunately, this is more
costly and can lead to disagreements amongst family members.